As a high-end hotel, the lobby of the Plaza Hotel was very spacious, and the floor height was seven to eight meters.
Two years ago, when there was still electricity, there was a huge glazed chandelier hanging from the dome. It looked like a ball of sparkling and translucent light in the sky. In such a spacious and high space, the voices of people on the other end sounded like soft, muffled background music in the air.
Because of this, when Qing Jiuliu's shoulder slammed into the marble pillar, the muffled sound that made people frown almost didn't cause any ripples. Other than himself, no one could hear the low groan that he let out because of the pain.
He crashed into the stone pillar without any resistance. His left hand, which he had stretched out, also missed. When he turned his head, there was nothing on his shoulder.
However, it was hard to say how unexpected this outcome was. Even Qing Jiuliu himself wasn't too disappointed.
He leaned against the marble pillar and took a deep breath. He took out a crumpled cigarette and put it in his mouth. However, the moment his finger touched the lighter, he froze.
He raised his head, but there was no movement in his pitch-black field of vision.
Even the sound of the wind blowing the cloth and the rustling of the leaves had disappeared from the building like a receding tide. All that was left was absolute darkness and silence.
It was too dark. At first glance, the blurry shadow in the distance seemed to be moving, but when he took a closer look, there seemed to be nothing.
"Ji Shanqing …?" He called out softly. "Is that you? Where are you? "
His voice floated in the air, and eventually, it became softer and softer until it stopped abruptly. He waited for a long time, but naturally, he didn't hear any response.
Judging from the current situation, it was impossible for him to go upstairs. Not to mention the fact that he was too far away from the stairwell, it was definitely not a good idea to walk into the dark stairwell alone.
Qing Jiuliu looked at the door. In the pitch-black lobby, there was only a slight dimness, as if there was still a glimmer of light in the world.
He waited. Qing Jiuliu didn't hear any movement beside him, so he took a step forward. But as soon as he moved, something fell from his body and landed on the floor with a clang. It turned out to be the lighter that he had just pulled out.
He hesitated for two seconds. Qing Jiuliu bent down and started to search in the dark. However, he soon paused.
He felt the lighter, and at the same time he felt the tip of a shoe.
In the blink of an eye, Qing Jiuliu leaped up and struck upwards with his hand. But, just like the previous time, Qing Jiuliu did not manage to dodge the attack. His hand did not touch anything. It just passed through the air. After missing his attack, he immediately turned around and ran towards the direction of the gate.
He hurriedly retreated into the darkness. When he turned around again, the figure at the door had disappeared.
He put his hands on his knees and felt that his chest was so heavy that he could hardly breathe. It was not because he ran too fast, but because he did not know where to run. Everywhere he looked, there was only dead darkness.
He couldn't get out of the gate, so the only way out was the stairwell. He could imagine. The stairwell wouldn't be smooth, but Ji Shanqing had to give it a try.
Relying on his memory, he managed to figure out a direction in the dark and carefully walked in that direction. He made every movement as quiet as possible, not making a sound.
"Ji Shanqing …?"
The voice sounded like it was trying to sound him out, and it made the grand prize stop in his tracks.
"Is that you? Where are you? "
Ji Shanqing bit his lips and didn't make a sound. He tried his best to identify the source of the voice. However, his voice was diffused by the hall and echoed in the air. It wasn't easy to do that.
He didn't hear any response. Suddenly, he heard a few familiar crackling noises in the dark. Then, a flame leaped up from the front, casting an orange-red glow. Ji Shanqing felt a little relieved.
A small patch of darkness was dispelled, casting a long and twisted shadow on a pillar not far away. The flickering flame illuminated half of Qing Jiuliu's face.
The shadow started from the bridge of his nose and engulfed the other half of his face. His body below his neck was still immersed in darkness. It looked as if only half of his face was floating in the air.
"What are you standing there for?" the fire flickered. The flame flickered and cast a shadow on Qing Jiuliu's face. However, the shadow only lasted for two to three seconds before it went out. Darkness enveloped the room again. Even though the faint light only lasted for a moment, Ji Shanqing was sure that Qing Jiuliu didn't open his mouth when he spoke.
The crackling noises continued for a few more seconds. It seemed like the other party was trying to light a fire but couldn't. Goosebumps rose all over Ji Shanqing's body because the crackling noises in the dark were getting closer and closer.
When the crackling noises finally stopped, Qing Jiuliu's voice rang out close to Ji Shanqing's face, "Let's go. Let's go back."
Ji Shanqing's hair stood on end. He turned around and ran. However, after taking two steps, he suddenly stopped and turned around.
"It's strange … This is the second time I've heard these two sentences," he said softly in the dark, as if he had forgotten his fear. "… The wording, the speed, and the tone are all the same."
"If I'm not mistaken, you can record, mute, edit, and replay your voice, right?" After a moment of silence, Ji Shanqing suddenly added, "My voice doesn't seem to have drifted away."
Not a single sound came from the dark. Qing Jiuliu, who was standing there a moment ago, seemed to have melted into the darkness.
"Think about it carefully. No matter what you are, if you could kill me by approaching me, I would have died a long time ago." Ji Shanqing frowned and murmured, "Then … what's going on?"
Just as he discovered, as soon as these words left his mouth, it was as if someone had used something to cover them up. They immediately stopped in the air and did not give rise to the slightest echo.
"The second half of 'Let's go back' is … if Lord Magus is anxious from waiting, she will come down personally. We'll be in trouble. " Ji Shanqing repeated the sentence softly, and he felt the courage slowly returning to his body. "When I heard that sentence, Qing Jiuliu was walking toward me from the front door … It was as if he was trying to make me lower my guard."
"But you don't know. That sentence itself is very problematic. "
After Ji Shanqing said that, he shut his mouth. The room fell into silence again.
After a few seconds, an unfamiliar deep voice came from the darkness. "... What's the problem?"
Ji Shanqing smiled silently. This person couldn't help but come out in the end. It was just that he had spoken too little just now, so he couldn't tell which direction he was coming from.
When the grand prize opened his mouth again, he didn't answer the question. Instead, he asked, "You know that Magus is upstairs, and yet you still dare to provoke us. Do you not know who Magus is, or are you too confident in this trap? "
"Both." This time, the strange voice suddenly laughed in a low voice and became excited. "… Ah, it's coming, it's coming."
'What's coming? '
Ji Shanqing frowned. He felt that he was just a step away from locating the voice. He asked again, "What's coming? What do you want? "
"Nothing much. You are already standing in the right place at the right time." The voice laughed hoarsely.
Ji Shanqing was shocked. It was too late for him to jump out of the way. In the blink of an eye, a familiar face appeared in the darkness before him. The person leaped into the air and blocked his escape route. A ray of light flashed in his hand, and a sharp object shot out from it. The object pierced into the grand prize's chest with great force.
When Ji Shanqing lost his balance and fell to the ground, his vision suddenly blurred. He could vaguely make out a blurry silhouette in the darkness. That person was Qing Jiuliu, who was holding a piece of broken glass tightly in his hand.
Ji Shanqing stabbed the glass twice. When he felt that the person under him had stopped moving, Qing Jiuliu panted heavily. Panting heavily, Qing Jiuliu plucked out the long piece of glass and threw it far away with a clang.
"It's finally over," he muttered to himself in a hurry. He held his knees and stood up. After looking around in the dark, he took a step toward the direction of the stairwell. "Who is it … who is it …"
Perhaps Qing Jiuliu had finally relaxed his tense nerves. His mumbles were laced with exhaustion, and his voice gradually became softer.
"Bang!" A loud sound suddenly tore through the air. A black shadow the size of a room suddenly fell from the sky and heavily smashed onto the ground. Then, it swallowed the spot where Qing Jiuliu was standing. Along with the crisp sound of glass shattering, the shards and the echoes scattered in all directions. The entire hall seemed to be trembling.
The violent shattering sound lasted for half a minute before it finally died down. Suddenly, an unhurried voice rang in the air.
"Aiya … It looked amazing when it was hanging from the ceiling. It looked even more extraordinary when it fell from the sky."
Along with this sentence, a white light flashed in the darkness, followed by a circle of torchlight, instantly illuminating the surrounding space. Under the cold white light, the glass chandelier that was half-broken and trapped in the debris was splashing everywhere, occupying half of the hall.
The person holding the torchlight was a short, plump, and unprepossessing man. His thick lenses reflected the light from the torchlight. He tugged at his T-shirt and walked toward the chandelier. At the same time, he looked around.
"With such a heavy force, even an elephant could be smashed to death …" He narrowed his eyes and chuckled. Then, his voice suddenly stopped.
Under the chandelier, there was no blood seeping out as he had expected.
The man with the thick glasses shuddered and realized that something was wrong. Before he could turn around, a hand suddenly wrapped around his neck from behind and gradually tightened around his throat. The force was not strong, but the blood in his body suddenly changed direction and flowed towards the hand. Then, like a clay ox entering the sea, it disappeared.
"Take a good look at me," Qing Jiuliu gritted his teeth and said, "Are you planning to smash a chandelier into pieces with a face like this?" Just as Thick Glasses felt weak and his vision went black, Qing Jiuliu's voice rang beside his ear.
From the thick glasses' throat came a muffled gurgling sound. Ji Shanqing couldn't tell if it was due to the blood flow or the shortness of breath.
"Why do you always find an opportunity to praise yourself?"
Ji Shanqing said. Ji Shanqing poked his head out from the other side of the chandelier. The thick glasses' eyes widened when he saw Ji Shanqing. He flailed his arms and legs a few times. The clothes on the chest of the grand prize were torn, but no skin could be seen under the layers of clothes. Looking unhappy, the thick glasses used his hand to cover the hole in his clothes. He instructed Qing Jiuliu, "Put it down when you're almost done. You'll die later."
"You only know how to talk," Qing Jiuliu grumbled. Qing Jiuliu mumbled. Seeing that the thick glasses' skin was already pale and that he was about to pass out, Qing Jiuliu tossed him to the ground lazily and put a few fingers on his neck out of boredom. As a precaution.
The thick glasses, who had just lost a large amount of blood, didn't even have the strength to stand up. His lips trembled as he looked at Ji Shanqing. He asked in a muffled voice, "You … How did you … And why did you …"
"Firstly, he's not a human. Secondly, we realized that we were still in the hall. Let's ask something creative." Before the thick glasses could finish his question, Qing Jiuliu answered impatiently, "No? Then, we'll ask you. "
"Was that your ability just now?" Ji Shanqing squatted down and asked in a confident tone, "Who are you? Why did you come to me? "
The thick glasses panted and opened his mouth.
"How do you shoot a horror movie with 10,000 RMB?"
The answer was editing.
Once the 'actor' was determined, the ability could be activated. After the ability was activated, every action, every word, and every scene of the actor would be used as the starting material for the ability user to edit the scene. After the editing, the scenes and sounds would become the 'setting' and 'plot' in the eyes of the actor. Then, the actor would act according to the script. Due to the limited budget, the movie couldn't be too long. After 15 minutes, the ending of the movie would be decided. Since this was a horror movie, it would be better if someone died.
The 10,000 RMB budget could be used to purchase the necessary props. Don't spend too much.
PS: Once the filming begins, the set will be protected from any disturbances until the end of the filming.
"In other words … What we saw was actually recorded by you, edited it, and then played it for us to see. "Ji Shanqing sneered." But this lamp, I have no idea what you're talking about. "But this lamp … It's more than 10,000 RMB, right?"
"Things in the apocalypse are worthless," the thick glasses struggled to say.
"This is the worst movie I've ever been in in my acting career." Qing Jiuliu spat. He pinched the thick glasses' neck and asked, "Why did you come to us?"
"I can't say —" The thick glasses only managed to say a few words before he felt his blood rushing to his head. He quickly shouted at Ji Shanqing, "Anyway, it's because a consular officer died! You killed him, right? "
"… Why are you so sure that it was me?" The grand prize was shocked. He didn't expect the thick glasses to be a candidate under another examiner. However, he frowned as he thought about it.
"I have a few companions," the thick glasses stuttered, "There's a woman with a tracking ability …"
"No," Qing Jiuliu realized something was wrong as well, "When I first heard the whistle, the mission to track down the consular officer killer hadn't been assigned yet —"
"Whistle?"
The man widened his eyes in confusion behind his glasses. "Is this the whistle you're talking about?"
Qing Jiuliu and Ji Shanqing froze. They raised their heads at the same time with pale faces.
The long whistle sounded softly. This time, it was much closer. It sounded as clear as if it was right beside their ears. (To be continued.)
PS:
Do you know how long I've been stuck on this chapter?! From nine in the morning! I've been stuck until now! Finally, I'm done! I've already thought about the plot, but I can't write it out no matter how hard I try. It's a strange experience … I'm not going to write more horror stories. After all, some people are afraid of others.
Thank you, Little Fat Bird, Hua Xiamian, Mia, and everyone else for their tips. Thank you, Hermit Time, As Expected, Lost Leaf, Daughter of the Sun, and everyone else for your monthly tickets! Why is the name list so short?
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